Mexico's Televisa to beef up sports coverage, Univision

January 22, 2013|Reuters

MEXICO CITY, Jan 21 (Reuters) - The CEO of Mexico's leadingbroadcaster, Televisa, said the company would increase itssports coverage in 2013, focusing on soccer, and launch anEnglish-language channel developed by Univision and ABC News.

Chief Executive Emilio Azcarraga did not say when the newchannel will be launched. The venture will bank on the risingnumber of Hispanic viewers in the United States.

Televisa provides most of Univision's primetime programming.

Additionally, the Mexican broadcaster will move heavily intosocial media and audience participation to improve its sportscoverage, again concentrating on soccer, an area it and No.2broadcaster, TV Azteca, have ruled for years, but now facerising competition from the world's richest man, Carlos Slim.

"We are launching a new soccer social media platform...whereeverybody can add content," Azcarraga said without elaboratingduring a televised interview on Televisa.

Both Televisa and TV Azteca are owners of bigmoney-making professional soccer franchises and have beenaccused by smaller teams of overcharging for transmission rightsand advertising.

Slim has made three soccer investments in recent months: hebailed out troubled Spanish team, Real Oviedo, and purchasedstakes in Mexican clubs Leon and Pachuca. In the case of Leon,he also bought transmission rights for the team.